This weekend, the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opened up with a large $253.2 million figure worldwide, pulling in $62.2 million across 4,163 theaters in North America, shy of the $74.4 million that its predecessor, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, pulled in 2016.
While the first Fantastic Beasts reeled in favorable reviews and a CinemaScore of A, its sequel has waved through some not-so-flattering opinions while maintaining a B+ CinemaScore. Its overseas pull of $191 million was dispersed across 79 markets, just ahead of the $187 million overseas tally enjoyed by the original. This time around, the film did particularly well in China, earning $47.5 million in the nation. Despite this, Sony's Venom still raked in $51.2 in the Chinese market, staying at No. 1 in the country.
According to the numbers, 70 percent of moviegoers were over the age of 25 with females making up 57 percent of that audience. The film, written by J.K. Rowling and directed by David Yates, stars an ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Watson, Dan Fogler, Ezra Miller, Zoe Kravitz, and Johnny Depp.
Warner doesn't expect Grindelwald to let up either as we head into the holiday season. "With a big holiday weekend coming up, we have a real opportunity," says Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein.